Morning Briefing: Harvey Day, back home

Kieran Darcy is an ESPNNewYork.com staff writer. He joined ESPN in August 2000 after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, where he played four years of JV basketball.
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FIRST PITCH: Coming off a dramatic win in Denver on Thursday, which capped off an impressive four-city road trip in which they went 7-4, the Mets will be back at Citi Field on Friday and have their best pitcher on the mound.

Matt Harvey (7-1, 2.05) leads the National League in strikeouts (121), and leads Major League Baseball in opponent batting average (.188) and WHIP (0.88). And he should be well-rested, since he flew back to New York ahead of the team to prepare for Friday night's game.

The rest of the Mets might be a little tired after a late-night flight home from Colorado. But they also should be feeling good about themselves following the surprisingly good trip.

BIRTHDAYS:Richard Hidalgo turns 38 years old Friday. The former outfielder from Venezuela spent most of his nine-year major league career with the Astros, but spent half the 2004 season with the Mets after being acquired in mid-June in exchange for David Weathers and Jeremy Griffiths. Hidalgo hit .228 in 86 games with the Mets, with 21 home runs and 52 RBIs. His finest season was in 2000, when he hit .314 with 44 homers and 122 RBIs for Houston. He last played in the big leagues in 2005.